(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) Dale Earnhardt Jr. had just completed a satisfying sixth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway when he was stopped by the Fox Sports cameras in what might have been his final post-race interview with the network.

It was 17 years ago that Fox made its debut as NASCAR's newest broadcast partner, and that Daytona 500 will always be remembered for the fatal last-lap accident that killed Dale Earnhardt Sr. His son rushed from the track in his firesuit to the hospital hoping for the best, but his father was gone.

He was practically a kid back then, doing his interviews with a baseball hat on backward before jumping in his race car as a respite from the chaos around him.

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